Retaining member for well-packers.



L. E. ROBINSON.

RBTAINING MEMBER POR WELL PACKERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY ze, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

L. E. ROBINSON.

RBTAINING MEMBER FOR WELL PAGKERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY ze, 191s,

1,094,020, l Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

s SHEETS-SHEET z.

L. E. ROBINSON.

RETAINING MEMBER FOR WELL PAOKERS.

APPLICATION FILED 11111126.1913. A

1,094,020. Patented A111121, 19144 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

HIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIII 51m/vento@ www g Pau/w01@ srarns 4their'*ENT Ormes.

. LAWRENCE E. nc'nsrnson, or vcois'riinrvrnnn; kansas.

` nETAINr-NG MEMBER'FOR WELL-PACKERS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LAWRENCE E. .ROBIN- son, a citizen of the United States, residing at Coifeyville, in the county of Montgomery and State 'of Kansas, new and useful Improvements in Retaining Members for Well-Packers, 'of which the fol-f A lowing is a specification,

reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates useful improvements in well-packers and particularly` to the retaining member for-holding the telescoping sections apart in order to prevent the packing from expanding before it has, reached the desired depth.

Another object of thev invention isf'to prolvide a retaining member which is'sofconstructed that it is impossible for the same to be displaced by A foreign matter being forced through the well casing by gas pressure v; the

member' being :formed of two sections inter-v locked together in'such a mannerthat it is necessary to displace the member -by `lowerf ing into the well, a sinkeribar o-r bailer to exert a downward pressure upon the member. -v

'A further object of the invention is to vprovide a retaining member which is formed of sections which are pivotally .connected together and held by frangible means "in such a manner `that an exceedingly strong and durable vmemberis formed whichwill resist all gas pressure and any other foreign matter which is forced up through the casing; said means being broken by the impact of the bailer or sinker bar.

In placing a well casing in exceedingly deep wells, rivets are now employed for holding the telescoping sections carrying the packing sleeve andbin some cases when an obstruction is in the path of the casing, the

rivets are sheared allowing the sections to telescope and set the packing, thereby making it necessary to remove the casing or shred the packing from the casing by the excess downward pressure, and I have found that by employing a retaining member in connection with the rivets that a double lock is formed for. the telescoping sections which prevents all danger of the packing being set until the desired depth is reached. I have also found that various forms of retaining members lhave been constructed and emrbut 1n each instance, have mvented certain to certain new and' "upper section, which is illustrated, in n the accompanying drawings.

i means employed for Fig. 6, is a side elevation of Specification of Letters Iiatenvt. Patented @pry 1.914. Application filed May 26, 1913. Serial N o. 770,041. i

ployed Qin `connection with well packers, where a pair of telescoping sections are employed, one section carrying a' packing sleeve, the retaining member was so constructed that it would not resist anupward pressure caused by foreign matter being forced up through the casing by the gas pressure. In setting the casin'gs in exceptionally deep wells, it is often necessary to employ a number of packers between different stratacontaining oil and water and where such packers are necessary, Iuse a common rivet-retaining member at thelow'er packer;'a pivoted-retaining memberfin the central packing and a screw packer at the clearly shown and Ofcourse it is understood that it is necessary to provide a member which is so constructed that the drilling tool can pass the sameV andin Ysome cases, the tool breakspthe retaining Imembersand if this is 'the only preventing the p acking from being set, the packing would be set pre'- maturely and t-herefore,` it Awill be seen that a great advantage is obtained by employing two retaining means for holding the tele'- scoping sections intheir proper positionsin order to prevent thepacking from being set until both retaining means are displaced.

Otherand 'further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features -thereofdefined by the appended claims.

In the drawingsfFigure 1, is a section of a well showing three forms of packer in position; the central form illustrating my improved invention; Fig. 2, is an enlarged section through a well showing the packer set and the retaining member displaced; Fig. 3,

is a perspective of my improved constructionof retaining member; Fig. 4, i's a perspective of the same showing the duplicate members thereof separated; Fig. 5, is a perspective of another form of retaining member, showing the sections thereofseparated; the same; Fig. 7, 1s a section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8, is a perspective of another form of retaining member; Fig. 9, is a longitudinal horizontal section through the same; Fig. 10, is a perspective View of still another `form of retaining member showing the sections separated; Fig. 11 is a longitudinal horizontal section through the same; Fig. 12, is 'a perspective of still another form of retaining member; and Fig. 13, is a transverse section through the same.

Like numeralsl of reference refer to' like parts in the several figures of the drawings. In Fig. 1 of the drawings, I illust-rate` a well casing; the lower section thereof being provided with a shoe 1 which is adapted. to rest uponthebottom of the wel] and the upper end of the section .isprovided with .a plug 2 in which the adjacent section 3 1s slidably mounted; said section having a shoulder 4 at its lower end and carrying a. packing sleeve 5 which` is adapted to be expanded by the telescoping of the section within the lower section asU clearly shown rivets 6 being employed for preventing the section from telescoping, said rivets being sheared off by downward pressure when the packer has reached the desired depth. The intermediate section 7 is similarly constructedand is provided with a tubular plug 8 through which extends the 'adjacent section 9 carrying a packing sleeve 10; the lower en d of said section being provided with. an annular shoulder 11 .for limiting the upward movement between the sections. The section 9 is held in its proper position when being lowered in the well, by rivets 12, and my -improved retaining member 13 which extends transversely across the casing and is seated upon the plug 8 in slots 14.

.formed in the section 9. VThe section 9 is connected to the upper section 15x by 'a screw thread, and said. upper section carries a packing sleeve 16x which is set in the ordinary manner of packers now in use. 40 The arrangement of packers as disclosed in Fig. 1, is employed where it is desired to use a number of packers in deepA wells in order to cut ofi" the water or gas between the bottoml and intermediate packers or water or gas',l between the intermediate and top packers, andIhave found that by arranging the combination of packers as shown, a great advantage'is obtained' in passing through stratafofy various soils.

preferably `formed of a pair of duplicate members 15 and `1.6; each. member being providedv Iat its end with a reduced rounded portion 1f( .which is adapted to extend into the slot formed .inthe section carrying lthe packingsleeve,as-clearlynshown in Fig.` 1; and

it .willbeseenthat by reducing and rounding the Y endsin ythis. .ma-nner, when the .sections areunited asfshown in Fig, and a downeo ward pressure :is-exerted thereon, they will ridelout ofthe/slots in order to allow the sectionwcarryin'g-thepacking sleeve to telen scope `into the" adjacent' section, causing the packing .sleeve' fc'arried `thereby, to be eX- ss penderi- "iinproved ,retaining member 13 is and the retaining member is so mountedl that it is impossible for the same to become wedged in overthe slots when the same is broken by the bailer.

The'inner ends of the sections 15 and 16 of the retaining member are cut olf obliquely as shown at 18 and are adapted to abutagainst obliquely arranged shoulders or stops formed by the rib 19 upon each section, in order to prevent the sections from moving upwardly, as will be later described.

IVhile I have shown and described the sections being provided with ribs to form the shoulders, itis of course understood that by reducing the sections, oblique shoulders can be formed to accomplish the same result. Each section is provided with a registering transverse opening through which a'connecting bolt 2O passes in order to pivotally connect the sections together, and it will be seenV thatwhen the sections are pivotally connected together as shown in Fig. v

3, it will be impossible to lnove either of the sections by exerting an uppressur'esupon Vthe same, as the oblique ends abut against the shoulders and prevent -the sections from moving whereby a rigid member is formed to resist any up-pressure from the well. lVhen the `sections are in this position, they are free to move in respect to cach .other by a downward pressure such as the impact of a sinker bar or bailer.

To insure the interlocking of the sections, so as to -resist any excess pressure, I provide each section with -a recess 21 and with aprojection 22, the projection of one section fitting within the recess of another section se as to interlock the sections together and these sections are preferably formed of cast iron so that when a sinker bar or a bailer is dropped into the casing, so as to strike the upper edges of the sections, the retaining member will be broken or the scctions will move in respect to each other so as to shear off the projections 22 and allow the members to move in respect to each other, whereby the retaining member will be forced out of position in the slots and by the pressure of the casing above the packing, the packing will be set. These interlocking projections prevent the packer from being set by the impact of the drilling cable making it necessary to drop a sinker bar or bailer into the well before setting the packer. It will be noted that I employ rivets also for holding the telescoping sections in connection with the retaining member, thereby making it necessary to shear off the rivets in order to set the packer; but, it is of 'course vunderstood that *my ,improvedy fform Y of retaining imember ma'y be Iemployed with or withoutrivetsor inconnection with any other form of packer, -Where two `telescoping sections are employed-and means is employed for-retainngtliesections in order to prevent gth'elpacker ifrom being set.

In .the form of'retaining member shown in Figs 5, 6 and 7, the members 25 and 26 are substantially the same shape as disclosed in the preferred 'form of 'the invention and are kpivotally connected together ?by a bolt; 27 and provided with oblique stops for limiting the movement of the sections in. one direction. movement in the other direction until it i's desired to separate the sections to -dislodge them from the pipe section, I provide each of the members with a laterally extending frangible projection 28 which is adapted to f co-act with the adjacent section so as to prevent the sections from lmoving until the projections 28 have been sheared 0H or broken, as the case may tbe.

In the 'form shown 'in Figs. 8 and 9, the members .29 and 30 are pivotally connected together by. a transverse bolt 31 and iare provided with -meains yfor reventing movement in one direction, by orming'the same' an excess pressure is brought to bear upon. the sections in such a m'amnerthat the bolt; will be stripped of its thread or the :head

broken off in order to allow these sections to move in respect to each other and this contitl ' the sections-to pivot.

struction is especially adapted to be used when it is desired to provide a retaining, member which will notseparate until an. excessive blow has been brought yto bear v upon the same. When the sections start to move upon their pivot by the impact of a blow, the bolt will be twisted and it will be seen that I havev shown -the same arranged in a bore formed by the grooves with a slight play and if desired, an elongated opening or slot can be formed to receive this bolt, but I have found that by experiment ing, in arranging the bolt as shown, pressure is'brought to bear upon the members and the bolt will be broken in order to 'allow In the modification shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the members 35 and 36 are provided with shoulders for preventing movement in one direction and one member is providedjwith M a projection 37 which fits in s groove or revIn order to retard the down pressure.

'cess 38y formed in the other-'member -and'us provided with the projection and the 1member 36 ywith the groove or recess. These-sec- 'tions are pivotally connected together lby a lbolt 39 and when in the position shown in Fig. 11 the projection extends into the recess 38 in ordertoprevent the sections from moving until the projection, which is preferably formed rangible has'been sheared off or broken oil by the vmovement of the sections -i-n respect to each other; it of course being understood that the material from which `the vfrangible means -is formed, is such that the same will break `oi be sheared off when `the sections are moved inrespect to each other.

In the form shown in Figs. 12 and 13, the retaining. member is formed of sections 40 and 41, the overlapping` faces of which are formed smooth and each section is provided with a shoulder co'-acting with the abutting section in order to prevent movement inone direction; said sections being pivotally connected 'by a bolt 42. In this form, instead of providing the sections of the member with projections for preventing movement in one direction, I wrap the overlapping sections with a frangible cord 43 which is adapted to bebroken by the movement of the sections when pressure is brought .to bear thereon, which is especially adapted to be used in forming a retaining member which can be used a number of times.

From the foregoing description it will be Seen that I have provided a retaining member formed 'of two sections pivotally connected together'in such a manner that the sections are prevented from moving'in respect to each other in one direction and are held from moving in respect to each other in the opposite direction by "frangible means, whereby a retaining member for well packers is formed which cannot' be thrown out of position by an upward pressure, but is free to be disengaged from the pipe section by a I claim:

1. A sectional retaining member for well packers having frangible means for preventing movementin one direction.

2. A sectional retaining member forv well packers having means for preventing movement in one direction, and frangible means for preventing movement in the opposite direction.

"shown'in the idrawing, lthe member 35 'is 3. A sectional retaining member for Well y packers, formed of two overlapping sections -movably mounted in respect to each other'in one direction, and frangible means for preventing movement in said direction.

4L.' Asectional retaining member For weil packers vformed of a pair of pivotally connected members having means for preventing movement in one direction, and a frangible projection on one of said members for preventing movement of said sections in the opposite direction.

5. A retaining member for well packers 4formed of two sections pivotally connected together having infrangible means for pre` 'tions being pivotally connected together and providedwith projections, the inner -end of each section abutting against the projection of the adjacent section, and frangible means for'. preventing movement in one direction.

' .l 7..A retaining member for well packers comprising a pair of pivotally connected duplicate members, each member being provided with an oblique end and an oblique rib for preventing movement in one direction.

8. A retaining member for well packers comprising a pair of pivotally connected members havingl frangible interlocln'ng members.

9. A retaining member for well packers comprising a pair of members pivota ly connected together, each member bein provided with a recess and a' lug to recelve the lug of the adjacent member.

10. A retaining member for well packers formed of two sections interlocked together for preventing movement in one direction.

11. A retaining member for well packers comprising a pair of duplicate-members pivp otally connected together, each member being provided with a 'reduced rounded outer end and an oblique end, said members being provided with shoulders engaging the oblique end thereof, and lugs carried by the adjacent faces of said members fitting in re-y cesses formed'therein.

12. A retaining member for well packers comprising a pair of duplicate members pivotally connected together, each member be- -ing provided with an obliquely arranged rib forming a shoulder engaged by the inner end of the sections, the overlapping faces of said sections being provided with interlocking lugs.

13. A retaining member for well packers, comprising a pair of duplicate members, each member being provided with a recess and a lug, the lu of one member fitting within the recess o the adjacent member for retarding the movement of said members in one direction, and means for preventin the movement of said members in opposite irections.

14. A retaining member for well packers formed of two sections pivotally connected together having means for preventing movement in one direction, and retarding means for preventing movement in an opposite direction.

v15. A sectional lretaining member for well packers, comprising apair of members movably mounted in respect to each other, and frangible means for preventln movement of said sections in respect to eac other.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LAWRENCE E. ROBINSON.

lW'itnesses: A

' ELLIOTT IRVIN,

BUS BOWERMAN. 

